Literally No One Is Happy About the Massive Parole Center Being Built in Gowanus

The awkward location, far from most other trains, could make it difficult for parolees to get to their appointments on time, Saunders points out.

"That could have real implications," he says. "Being late for or missing an appointment can be considered a violation of your parole," he explains. "And violating your parole [could lead to] being sent back to prison."

As it stands, all Brooklyn parole offices are downtown, close to stops on the 2,3,4, and 5 lines at Nevins and Hoyt-Schemerhorn streets, and not too far from the Atlantic Avenue station that serves most of the borough.

Keeping parole centers public, near subways and amenities, is something the state should continue, not walk away from, Saunders says: "Hiding parole in some warehouse district -- that runs counter to the direction everyone wants to see our criminal justice system going."

Brian Pearson agrees. A construction worker and a leader on VOCAL's civil rights campaigns, the 38-year-old has been on parole three times -- most recently for a drug-related offense in 2012. "Going downtown [for parole], that's how I got involved with VOCAL," he says.

Pearson, who currently lives in Bed-Stuy but previously lived between Brownsville and East New York, says the Gowanus parole center hub would be a difficult trek for many Brooklynites. He'd prefer to see smaller offices with helpful services scattered throughout the borough, "sort of like a community center."

Says Pearson: "If you put it all over there [in Gowanus], everybody in East New York loses as well. They lose security, access."

Katie Toth

The new parole center (located at the bend in the canal) is surrounded by industries. Some say the location "sends the wrong message."

Yuppie helicopter parents and prisoner-justice advocates may make strange bedfellows. But with the overwhelming consensus of opposition to the center, the remaining question is how, exactly, it was allowed to happen in the first place.

According to a letter from the DOC, community consultation is not a required step for finding a site for facilities like this one. Rather, the state publishes an ad in the Contract Reporter, a bulletin board of sorts on the NY.gov website that lists requests for proposals and bidding opportunities for public projects. As of press time, 699 "available opportunities" were on the site.

After a request for information is placed on the site, the state looks at responses that meet the requirements -- the site can't be adjacent to schools, residences, or children's spaces, for example -- and chooses the best option.

But the state does have to follow some requirements. What those requirements are seems to be the crux of the argument the residents make in the lawsuit.

The lawsuit says the state must conduct an environmental assessment of the site; the state says it doesn't have to do that because it's just leasing, not buying, the property.

The lawsuit says the state signed its lease with the landlord before it applied for the city zoning override it would need in order to build such a large facility without extra parking.

Finally, the lawsuit blames the city for sneaking in the approval for the override during the last days of the Bloomberg administration.

Residents say they're willing to put up with a smaller-scale parole center but are mostly upset that the decision was made without input from the community.

Lander says when he first heard about the center over the summer, he had to call the DOCCS multiple times before getting a call back to discuss the plans.

The community was informed by a letter from the location's property manager, Chaim Simkowitz, which said that "we look forward to working with your office to ensure the seamless transition of this facility."

The letter explained that DOCCS previously rented a parole center in Brooklyn on Livingston Street, but that when the building was sold, the department split its parole centers into three "temporary locations, which are less than ideal because of lack of usable space and poor conditions."

"The state of New York cannot operate without a DOCCS presence," adds Simkowitz, who donated to Bill de Blasio's mayoral campaign in 2013 and his run for Public Advocate in 2009. "Due to the difficulties of finding a suitable location, we are very excited that we were able to obtain the necessary permitting and approvals to expedite this process."

The Voice emailed Simkowitz on Monday evening but has not heard back.

In a letter to Brooklyn Community Board 6, which serves Gowanus, the DOCCS wrote that the proposal was approved in 2013. Representatives from the department did not immediately respond to questions from the Voice.